


The Sidhe

by sostrata



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Fairies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9143353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sostrata/pseuds/sostrata
Summary: Before heading to Hogwarts in Book 4, Sirius stays with Remus at Hallowe'en. Fairies ensue.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written back in 2007 in answer to a prompt (Sidhe) on the old lj comm barefootboys.
> 
> I take requests, if you would like me to write another adventure for Remus and Sirius. Also, I encourage everyone to say what they don't like about any of my fics. Don't feel you have to be polite! :)

After dinner, Sirius wandered around outside Remus's cottage. It was the tail end of dusk, and the landscape of woods and hills was enticingly wrapped in shadow. He wanted to romp, as a dog or otherwise, but Moony had warned him against doing so on Hallowe'en in such wild country. He was probably right. Remus usually was, if he recalled correctly. And after their pumpkin pie, he was just as disposed to relax. 

He shuffled through the damp autumn leaves, which were delightfully mushy and stuck to his boots in a satisfying, definitely-not-in-prison-anymore way. It crossed his mind that it was a bit ridiculous to be so besotted with wet leaves, but since Azkaban he had found himself taking pleasure in all sorts of odd things. Azkaban... he shook his head, not wanting to dwell on that overmuch. He determinedly sought a happier memory, and reminisced for a time on the lavish Hallowe'en feasts at Hogwarts. Those were the days...

He jerked his head up instinctively, but for a moment couldn't think of why. Had there been a sound? If he had been in dog form, he would have pricked his ears and sniffed the air. As it was, he settled for looking around alertly, his hand finding his wand in his pocket. His gaze settled on the dark wall of trees bordering the small garden. There- there was a definite rustling in the bushes. He went cold- no, no, it wasn't the dementors; he would have felt them before he heard them. Was that giggling? An almost giddy wave of relief swept over him. Definitely not dementors, then. Could it be children?

A gossamer-thin net shot out from the trees and enveloped him with shocking suddenness. He landed very heavily and painfully on his back and was dragged into the underbrush so quickly that he hadn't even been able to cry out. He tried to do so now, but the netting nearly choked him. He struggled uselessly as he was dragged on and on.

Abruptly, he came to a halt, and the pinching began, all over his body, accompanied by gleeful, high-pitched cackling. He changed into a dog and frantically tried to claw his way out. The net finally fell away, and he was confronted by a circle of small, wrinkled creatures with gigantic eyes and too many teeth. He snarled at them, and they scurried out of the way with gratifying alarm.

There were shouts, and he caught a glimpse of something resembling a human before an unseen force hoisted him into the air. The ground whirled by dizzyingly as invisible hands tossed him back and forth. He yelped indignantly. He hadn't gone to all that trouble of escaping Azkaban for _this_.

And then there was a brilliant flash, and the cackling was replaced by shrieking. He thudded to the ground and lay there, stunned, until he felt gentle fingers stroking his head. He blearily opened an eye to see Remus leaning over him, his wand light clearly showing his worried face. Sirius felt a strange yet familiar combination of protective anxiety and relief. He squeezed his eyes shut to clear his lingering disorientation, then changed back into his real form.

"Sirius," whispered Remus urgently, his hand still in Sirius's hair, "how are you?"

"Fantastic," groaned Sirius, struggling to rise. Remus carefully helped him into a sitting position. He leaned heavily against his friend as he waited for the ground to stop moving. "Very invigorating, that was. What happened, exactly?"

"Er. It's still happening, I'm afraid."

Sirius paused in the act of rubbing his eyes. "What?"

"Look up."

He did. Low hills rose up all around them underneath the spangled sky. And in more direct proximity were masses upon masses of unfamiliar creatures. At the forefront was a circle of tall beings who at first glance one might think were human, but their fathomless eyes, pure silver and gold hair, pale garments of a shining material, and angular features spoke otherwise, and that wasn't even taking into account the general glow surrounding them. Among their legs were clustered the diminutive creatures he had frightened earlier, and beyond in the shadows lurked still more varieties, some resembling extremely elderly humans, others hiding behind masses of uncombed hair, some of an almost skeletal appearance and with gaunt hands that were more like claws, and still more whose true shape somehow evaded the eye. The one thing they all had in common was how they were regarding the two of them silently, with nearly unblinking eyes. 

Sirius collected himself. It was unnerving, yes, but it could be worse. At least it wasn't the dementors. "Who are they?" he breathed, feeling that to speak a hair louder would break the fragile spell.

Remus's answering breath tickled his ear. "They're Sidhe."

That was unexpected. "What are they doing here?" 

"Their hill is nearby."

"You _live_ near a Sidhe hill?" He winced at how loudly that had come out, but fortunately it had not disturbed the assembled host.

"This is really not the time," said Remus tensely.

"Right. Any ideas?"

"Now we wait."

"For what?"

"Shhh."

He tried to remember what one did against the Sidhe. They hadn't exactly covered them in Care of Magical Creatures. They were sometimes called fairies, but were not the same as pixies or doxies and the like. The paths of Sidhe and wizards did not cross often. The former mostly kept to themselves (when they weren't going about the countryside _bothering innocent escaped convicts who were minding their own business_ ), and the latter, baffled after years of fruitlessly attempting to capture/ally with/attack/understand these strange beings, had finally decided to ignore them. He thought he remembered something about turning one's clothing inside out, but this wasn't really the situation for such experimentation. Though it might be fun to ask Remus to give it a go...

There came the jingling of bells, and the crowd silently parted to admit a horse and rider. However, it was too bony to be a proper horse, and he was rather certain that horses normally didn't have ridges down their spines and glistening scales here and there, unless more had changed since he'd been in Azkaban than he'd realised. As for the rider, she was one of the tall, silver hair Sidhe. Her eyes were completely black in a ghostly white, narrow face. Pale robes floated about her, nearly blending with her wild hair.

Remus drew in his breath beside him. "What?" asked Sirius, figuring the odds. That horse looked nasty. Should he hex the horse, then her, or the other way around? Not to mention the horde around them...

"That's their queen," whispered Remus.

The Sidhe had closed into a wide, complete circle around them. Their forms had somehow become indistinct, as though looked at across a chasm. The queen and her horse moved closer even as the rest of the world seemed to move away, and the air filled with a nearly suffocating tension.

Remus gripped his arm. "Let me do the talking."

"Good idea. You do the talking, and I'll do the hexing."

The grip tightened. " _Sirius_."

Even after all these years, Sirius still recognised That Tone. He nodded reluctantly. With slow, careful movements, Remus helped him stand, not taking his eyes off the waiting queen.

Remus and the queen regarded each other for a space of time that seemed both breathtakingly brief and excruciatingly endless. At last, the queen spoke. 

"Dark creature," she said in an unearthly voice that echoed through Sirius's soul and almost made him want to curl up in a ball and whimper. "We have no quarrel with you."

Remus held himself straight and looked her in the eye. "This one is mine," he said firmly.

"We have claimed him."

"He was mine first."

"It is not at the moon. You are without your power."

"Am I really?" Remus enquired almost curiously. Uh-oh. Sirius knew that tone as well. It was the "so you're actually going to turn Filch's office pink" tone, the "I'll just let you build your own gallows, then, shall I" tone that was invariably followed by much doom and destruction.

The queen made no reply, and her eerie face did not reveal her thoughts. She stared at Remus for a space while he regarded her calmly. Though they gave no sign of it, the air between them fairly vibrated with tension and power. Then a chill wind swept past them, swirling the queen's hair and skirts about her. She seemed to grow taller, and a silvery light radiated from her.

His eyes never leaving her face, Remus held out his palm. A ball of wispy silver gleamed there as if in answer, and its glow stretched to encompass both him and Sirius.

Everything snapped back into focus. The fairy host leapt into action and with whoops followed their queen over the hills. Their cries could be heard long afterward.

Remus let out a great breath. "Well," he said, running a hand through his hair with only the barest trace of a tremor. "That was an adventure."

"Quite," Sirius said dryly. "You brought us near a Sidhe hill on Hallowe'en."

"Er, yes. Didn't I say?"

"No."

"Oh, sorry. It must have slipped my mind."

Sirius grinned. "Moony, I've missed you."

Remus reached out and tugged a lock of Sirius's hair. "I believe I may have possibly missed you too," he said, poorly attempting to stifle a smile.

"What was that glowing thing in your hand?"

"The- oh. I will tell you, but not right now."

"So, what's on for tomorrow?" Sirius said brightly. "Vampires? Giants? Perhaps a nice basilisk or two?"

"Let me take care of those bites."

"I like the sound of that." 

As the two started back to the cottage, Sirius kept an eye out for any fairies lingering in the underbrush. With Moony around, he thought happily, you never knew what would happen next.


End file.
